The Maritime Fishermen’s Union (MFU) was officially launched in 1977 at a meeting in the Baie-Ste-Anne. After many years of discussing fishing matters within small local associations, fish harvesters of New Brunswick decided it was time to establish a larger unified voice on the many issues related to the fishery and to their livelihoods. The MFU is accredited under Provincial legislation in both Provinces.

 

Since its inception, the MFU has been involved in many success stories in support of fish harvesters through the last 40 years, such as its work towards achieving the following:

The MFU currently represents 1300 independent small boat owner – operator fishers from the Atlantic Canadian Provinces of New-Brunswick and Nova-Scotia living in hundreds of small rural communities of the Atlantic Coast.

 

MFU Fish harvesters depend on the wide variety of marine species to support their families, such as : lobster, herring, snow crab, mackerel, scallops, tuna, halibut, etc.

 

Thoughout the years, the MFU has had many achievements for its members, some of the most important are listed below:

 

• Bona fide fishing policy;

• Fishery specific employment insurance program;

• Larger herring quota share vs large seiners (industrial fleet);

• Health plan for harvesters;

• Capital gains exemption plan;

• Access to new resources and to better sharing agreements (i.e. snow crab, halibut, etc.);

• License retirement program;

• Creation of a national Federation of fishery associations to defend the independence of harvesters;

• Resilient lobster fishery through aggressive conservation measures;

• MSC certification;

• Advanced research and lobster seeding program through Homarus;

• International promotion of lobster harvesting techniques and specifics.

 

The fundamental and most important structure for the organization is based on a wharf representations system. Its more formal structure uses a Locals system in the following manner:

 

NB

Local 10 : Bay the Chaleur

Local 1: Acadian Peninsula

Local 3: Upper Northumberland Strait

Local 2: Central Northumberland Strait

Local 5: Southern Northumberland Strait

 

NS

Local 9: South West Nova Scotia

Local 6: Eastern Cape Breton

Local 4: Southern Northumberland Strait

 

The Governance of the MFU stems from a By-Annual General Assembly Convention and is represented in the interim by its Maritime Council and Provincial Caucuses. The Executive of the MFU is led by the overall MFU President, two Provincial Vice-Presidents and a Secretary Treasurer.  

 

The MFU works in collaboration with a great array of international, national, regional and local associations mostly in direct link with the fisheries, and in some cases, related to the socio-economic affairs of the coastal / rural population of Atlantic Canada.